Bangkok airport now has Covid-19 testing lab

Thailand has installed a Covid-19 testing laboratory at Bangkok’s main airport that can provide results in 90 minutes for those suspected of carrying the virus, as polls show most Thais are still concerned about the pandemic despite no local infections in over a month.

Officials at Suvarnabhumi International Airport in Bangkok, the Kingdom’s main international gateway, said last week they are now prepared to accommodate passengers arriving in Thailand. The government has been reopening the country in phases and is still limiting arrivals to specific categories of people, including repatriating Thais, businesspeople, and medical tourists.

More categories will be added in the coming weeks and months. Authorities are trying to balance a desire to fully restart economic activities, including tourism, with the need to prevent a second wave of the coronavirus.

“Airport staff is on hand to assist passengers on filling out the quarantine questionnaire, loading tracking applications and following various formal procedures,” said Wing Commander Suthirawat Suwanawat, general manager of Suvarnabhumi airport.

The Kingdom has not had a locally transmitted case of Covid-19 in over 40 days. Most new cases have been among Thais who have returned from overseas. They have been quarantined and are being treated.

Nonetheless, a survey by the Suan Dusit polling agency found that a majority of Thais are still concerned about the spread of the virus. The survey results were that 53 percent are still worried about it, but to a lesser degree, 30 percent are concerned about it as much as before; 12.5 percent are no longer concerned about it, and 4.7 percent said they are more worried about it.

Photo courtesy of http://nbtworld.prd.go.th/th/news/detail/TCATG200703221214166